iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) Short Interest Up 18.7% in July

iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,110,000 shares, an increase of 18.7% from the July 15th total of 6,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,715,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Trading of iShares Semiconductor ETF

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SOXX. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in iShares Semiconductor ETF in the fourth quarter worth $729,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in iShares Semiconductor ETF in the fourth quarter valued at about $603,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in iShares Semiconductor ETF in the fourth quarter worth about $288,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in iShares Semiconductor ETF during the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in iShares Semiconductor ETF by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 872 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Stock Performance

Shares of SOXX traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $231.23. 3,966,086 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,929,049. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $239.68 and its 200 day moving average is $226.62. iShares Semiconductor ETF has a 1-year low of $144.40 and a 1-year high of $267.24. The stock has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.34.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 11th were issued a $0.3103 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%.

About iShares Semiconductor ETF

iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF, formerly iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the United States-listed semiconductor stocks as represented by the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (the Index).